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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cold — not warm
  4. press — to push
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. press — a publisher
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. land — to come down
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. land — a country
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cold — an illness
  16. land — ground
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bear — the animal
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bowl — a dish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com